John Forrest National Park

John Forrest National Park is located in the Darling Ranges about 30 minutes drive from Perth, Western Australia. It is located 26km east of Perth, via the Great Eastern Highway through Midland. The park is named after Sir John Forrest, who was Premier of Western Australia between 1890 and 1901. There is an entry fee, which was $11 for a car in 2010. There is a pool is located on Jane Brook, however this water is untreated and swimming in not recommended.

Top 10 Places to See and Things to Do

Walk along the 'Top Trail' Eagle View Walk Trail, a 15km circuit track (5-6 hours) though some of the more remote parts of the park.

Check out Swan View Tunnel, built in 1893. Take your torch so you can walk the 300m or so length of it. You can do it without the torches, but the middle bits are quite dark. After rain there may be patches of water in the tunnel, but not enough to stop you.

Visit the waterfalls - there are two, Hovea and National Park. Each of these are about 1km away from the car park. We visited in wintertime and there was still no water going over the falls. You may be lucky.

Ride your bike along John Forrest Heritage Trail, which is an old railway line. There is at least 10km of the trail that passes through the park, though the rail trail is longer.

Have a picnic. There are lots of picnic tables and free BBQs to use.

Visit the Tavern. Sit out the back and enjoy an ale and the bush view.

You may see Kangaroos as you take a walk around the park, but you are more likely to see them at the back of the hotel as they feed them so they keep coming back.

There are lots of bird life to view, particularly around the picnic areas. Make sure you don't feed them.